Arriving what looked to be last, or maybe second to last, Froth and Katia finally made it. Panting lightly, he looked over at his travel companion. "We finally made it," a sigh of relief followed. Pulling out his canteen, Froth took a good swig at its chilled contents. The water was so cool and refreshing that it instantly quenched his thirst. The kick from the cold also helped him snap to his senses. Orb wandering around at the faces of the others, Froth gingerly run a hand through his tousled white hair.

"Aren't you all a sore sight for the eyes." It was clear that no one had made any attempt to talk. Each of the warriors stood alone and slunk away from the others with a cautious prowl to their moves. Head shaking and a sigh pursing his lips, Froth turned to Katia before looking to the others. "I'm Froth of the Federation and this is Katia of Unlief." Bowing, Froth rose moments later.

Hands moving into his pockets, he wandered toward the center of the circle. This area was truly beautiful. Large crystal pillars surrounded the inner circle, which was dotted with tiny flowers. Old ruins lied beyond the second circle and giant arches connected to one another on the outer circle. Ivy grew between the arches and flowers bloomed on some of the vines of other mingled plants. A blue sky was above their heads, as were puffy white clouds.

The second his paw collided with a marble rock, a ghostly aura appeared. It was the voice and vision from his dreams. It was the one who called them all here.

"Welcome brave warriors. Your time is here. Use your spirit guardian to guide you and these blessed weapons to aid you." Before everyone'e eyes, materialized a weapon that looked to be made from crystals. "My the heavens bless you and the spirits guide you." A swirl of color followed as did a map of the area. Black lines started to move from their current location to what looked like Iyroco. "The first part of your quest is to gather the magic mirror from the caverns of Iyroco. Upon completing this quest, I will appear to tell you the next destination." In that same cloud of smoke and ice, appeared what looked like a woman whose face was hidden from their view. They would need to vanquish that lady should they want to obtain the mirror.

The vision stopped spinning and the crystals no longer glowed. Froth, who had frozen the moment his paw collided with the marble, finally took a step back. "I guess we're heading to Iyroco. Who here hails from there and can help us navigate the land to find those caverns?"

---

The following items appear before everyone...
Froth - Dual naginata spears
Sedna - Puu lei niho
Keoni - Sword
Katia - Throwing knives
Senshi - Axe
Dian - Whip

NOTICE

---

If you wish to partake in this RP, we will continue this. Those who don't post before we leave the holy place will be removed. How? We'll just say they didn't pass the first part of the test.

She had been glad to reach West Eon, and from there travel, in a more modern anti-grav transport. She was extremely overwhelmed by the city, and did feel safer in more rural areas, but loved looking out of the screens of the vehicle, and at the tremendous speed that it travelled.
It had been a short stay in the City of Merricton, but a strange one, apparently the representative of West Eon, had left shortly before she had arrived, Diantana had been told that they would be travelling together, so she had been a bit disappointed to meet someone new, but what was peculiar was that no one seemed to be able to say exactly when they had left, or where they were now, as her transport has sped to hopefully catch up, but they had no sight of anyone else travelling in their direction. So she was even more perplexed after arriving at the assembly area and having still no sign of her West Eon Cousin.

But she had plenty to distract her, everything looked so beautiful, she felt strangely comfortable and at home here, and things were a lot less daunting to her, unlike the towering buildings covered in neons, or huge manufacturing complexes. But more than the remarkable plants and ruins, were the other champions, she hadn't met many other peoples of Quicce, but had been given descriptions, sometimes flattering, sometimes rather prejudice, and she knew probably bias, but nonetheless she would take caution, something that she probably wouldn't stick to long, it just wasn't in her nature to think about consequences, especially when it came to people. She rarely met new people, when she did, they most likely were distant relatives, and so would act accordingly... Belching or being a noxious to each other as though they knew each other for years, she fought very hard during her short time in West Eon to not do so. And found it hard again here. Several times she was given comments by West Eonian males when she changed her clothing mid commute on one of the many monorails snaking around Merricton, not fully understanding what they meant, she would just smile at them and would end up having more comments, and nasty looks from any females.

Here though we're some pretty impressive looking guys, many of the men and boys back at home, were all physically fit, but only through work, and many of them family. But these Champions seemed built differently, sleeker, leaner, and a LOT taller, Diantana suddenly felt a little bit hotter, and found herself adjusting her already limited clothing. She felt odd and realised she had begun staring at one Champion, easily over a foot and a half, almost two foot taller than herself, and dark haired and keen eyed like the foxes that hunted their livestock back at home. So from Iyroco she thought. Without consciously doing so she wandered around trying not to be noticed as she watched him sit upon a rock, and close his eyes, wondering what he may be thinking about, she had an urge to go over and ask, when another two representatives arrived.

She listened as they introduced themselves as Froth and Katia, Froth, who appeared even taller than the Iyroconian, and older, was striking just the same, appearing with an eye patch and an up front personality, she took an immediate liking to him, and she listened intently. But at his companion Diantana took a double take, she knew people from the Federation and Unilef were both pale, but this Katia was stunning, her hair and skin seemed to glimmer like pearls, just as she noticed her mouth was slightly open in awe, the images and voice appeared to them all, she stood stock still and listened trying to work out what they may have in store for them. Froth spoke to the group, and asked who came from Iyroco, with this Diantana turned her neck back to tall dark one.

They were finally there. Katia’s legs felt like they were about to fall off. Grimacing she reached down and took off the show shoes. She smiled softly at Froth. Katia owed him a great deal. There was no way she could have made it on her own, not without being days late. She probably wouldn’t have made it at all. “Thank you,” she said softly to him. Glancing around at the others she suddenly felt the heat of the place. She shrugged off her backpack, letting it fall at her feet. Then she pulled her gloves off and lowered her hood. Next came the headband, followed by her muffler. She tucked the items in her pocket. With one hand she undid her braid while the other unbuttoned her fur coat. She shrugged out of the warm thing and set it on a rock next to her. Katia ran her fingers through her hair, massaging her scalp as she went. It was something she did when she was nervous.

When Froth introduced her she placed her palms together and bowed her head. It was a form of greeting she picked up years ago, that she had read about. She straightened up and looked around at the group once more. The woman (Dian) with the white freckle looking marks on her body and red hair intrigued her. Katia was just about to walk over to her when Froth touched a marbled rock and a vision appeared.

Eye wide Katia listened carefully and gaped at the new weapons in her hands. They were stunning throwing knives, they fit her perfectly. She glanced up to the vision when she spoke of their first mission. Iyroco, their first mission was there. Looking back down at her pair of throwing knives she twirled them in her hands. They moved through the air, almost a blur to the eye. Unlief’s had extremely fast hands and she had practiced the art of using knives for a long time. A huge grin on her face she headed over to Diantana, who was holding a sweet looking whip. “Hi,” she said, still grinning. “I’m sure you heard Froth earlier but I’m Katia from Unlief.” Katia transferred both knives to one hand so she could stick the other out to her.

Diantana saw the others take the weapons that had appeared before them, she looked away from the Iyroconian, unknown to her named Senshi. She looked over the whip, and reached her arms out to it, areas of it seemed to glow, and almost as if the lit itself held the whip together. She had used whips in Eon, they were part of their heritage and were used in husbandry, but she had never seen one like this, her grandfather had a great whip, not made for taming creatures but for people, and battle. He called it his Emissary, but this thing was almost unworldy, surely made by Demons, a Demons Emissary she thought to herself.

She tried slipping the coils into her webbing that made up her clothing, and managed to get it to fit comfortably on her person, before she took it out again to give it a crack, she could see in her peripheral vision Katia walking towards her, she stopped fingering her whip as she stood up to watch her approach. Diantana was suddenly quite conscious of her hands flopping uselessly at her side, and rushedly tried to make them busy, fingering the whip, then tightening her straps, she finally settled on shoving them behind her down the small of her back. She felt her legs become unusually heavy too, just as Katia spoke, smiling widely her silvery eyes shining brightly, she rarely saw an impressive looking woman at home, she herself was probably the most out standing looking girl in her region.

Upon Katia speaking, Diantana seemed to return to herself, and to her naive self
"Hi", she replied "I'm Dian, I'm from East Eon,..." She gazed at Katia and took her hand a bit too aggressively "Wow your skin is so shiny, can I touch you?"
Diantana had very little social filter, if any at all due to her rather open culture at home, but after her brief experiences in West Eon, she thought maybe she had over stepped the mark a bit if she simply had grabbed Katias face, and she was sure she had been completely acceptable asking first, feeling rather civilised of herself, she returned the smile back up at Katia.

More and more people were arriving to the island that Sedna was quickly growing used to. She had taken her time fishing and all about avoiding others by sticking to the water. The fish were different, tasty, but different and she was quickly learning the traits of the fish that lived in the area. She wasn't sure how long it had been since she had arrived, but something told her to finally leave the water and to join up with the others.

There were not very many to the group; the Shazrick warrior had been expecting more from the way that her tribe was talking. Perhaps the others are just that weak, she thought to herself, that same thought bringing a dark smirk to her face that revealed her sharp teeth. Before her, a white haired male introduced himself as well as his travel companion. If sharks could roll their eyes, Sedna would have. Such greetings seemed trivial and there was no point in learning the names of those who would be bested in combat. She exhaled loudly through her slightly peaked nose as she looked about the others that remained silent. The nice thing about not being able to roll your eyes, or at least about being shark-like, was with all black eyes, no one could tell where you were looking.

Shortly after the male had introduced himself, a vision appeared that discussed the current goal at hand. She liked the way this worked, or at least the fact that the spirit was getting straight to the point. She looked at the weapon before her and bowed to it. Such a weapon was not crafted by her people unless for special ceremonies instructed by the spirits, which were few and far between. The razor teeth of the shark is what made them so rare as their people were not willing to simply sacrifice the beasts for their own benefit. She took the weapon slowly, as the glowing faded from it, before clutching it to her heart in a tribal-like salute.

A low growl came from her throat as Froth began looking for direction from the person that came from that area. "We can start our travel there Bubbles," she growled at him. "Then they can take over leading the group as they see fit." Her eyes narrowed as the looked at the man, her muscular, yet slender arms crossing over her chest. The male was taller than her, but that did not stop her from pushing her appearance to make herself look larger than she really was. She could tell from the behaviors of those around her that she was not going to enjoy being around this group; they were all far too stupid.

"Bubbles?" Clearly a nickname based on his surname. "I prefer Foamy or Fizzball, but Bubbles works none the same. Being part shark, I forgive your lack of a native tongue of which doesn't allow you the pleasure of saying froth properly." Glancing down at the woman with the discolored skin, he smirked. She would be a fun one to play with, he could tell just from the way she stood there. Arms over her chest and a pout on her face. Yes, she was a real keeper. Not. More like a total pain in the ass. Still, her words rung true. They could figure out guides later on. For now, it was a pretty straightforward that they would cross the water and head back to the mainland.

Grabbing his dual spears, he slid them across his back. When they got into town, he would invest in a better way to hold these large weapons in place. Right now, the space between his back and backpack would have to do. It didn't feel comfortable, but he would get used to that throbbing sting in no time -- or so he hoped.

To get back to mainland was an easy task. They simply followed their steps in reverse. Now on the other side, Froth glanced his head down to the others. If he were to lead, he wouldn't get them lost. Having two parents, both of who traveled, Froth was well-versed in the lay of the land. Rather than waiting to see who would simply step forward to lead, he trudged forward. The lack of snow here was nice on his feet, but he soon found it annoying. He missed the cold as his feet were attune to the colder temperatures. Such heat burned the bottoms and caused a grimace to appear on his face when they finally made it to the center of the nearby town.

Without saying a word, he slipped from the group to purchase his sheath of sorts. The monetary exchange was more than he wanted, but time was of the essence. Purchase complete, he moved from the store and instantly corrected his spears' locations.

He hadn't spoken in a while, obviously forced on moving forward so that the shark-native wouldn't whine again. However, now that they regrouped, he figured it would be time to see how the others were fairing.

"Do you all have enough supplies or shall we rest for a moment to purchase more goods?" He mainly had Katia in mind for she seemed to travel the lightest.

Letting out a peal of laughter at Dian’s question Katia nodded. “Yes you may touch me.” It was said with a grin, letting her know that it really was alright. Dian was...refreshing. Katia knew the two of them would get along just fine. “I have to say your, freckles? They are stunning as are your eyes.” She was extremely exotic and pretty. Katia had run into her share of East Eon’s before but she had never quite seen looks like Dian had before.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Froth leaving. “I think we should probably follow after him. Let me grab my stuff real quick.” She dashed off and over to her things. Setting her knives of the ground she pulled her jacket on and buttoned it up. She pulled out her muffler and put it on, quickly untucking her long hair from under it. Then she pulled on her headband and after stuffing her new knives in her pockets she put her gloves on. Straightening up she threw on her leather backpack, making sure her fur pelt was safely tucked between her back and the straps. Then she walked back over to Dian and smiled. “You ready to head off?” She asked with a grin.

Katia waited until the other woman was ready and then the two of them were off and following after Froth. When they reached the town she looked around, then she heard Froth speak. “I need to buy thigh sheaths for my knives and stock up on food. After that I should be good.”

Everyone seemed to be on the same page..in sorts. A sigh escaped from his lips, as he lightly allowed a hand to wrap around the hilt of the axe that laid before him. His eyes slid across it, but he remained silent for the moment. He had felt the presence of one of the females (Diantana) watching him a bit, glancing over at her before he adverted his eyes himself. Odd, he had never been looked at like that before. He did not let himself linger on it, positioning the axe so it would be out of the way but close at hand if needed. It was already seeming that they would be heading out here quickly. Best not to dawdle.

The others were already beginning to chat, and he waited patiently for them to finish their little introductions. He really did not need one, his appearance would most likely give where he was from away. If they wanted to know his name, they would ask him. Perhaps that was the pride speaking again. He shook his head slightly, readying his things before the pale man, Froth by what he gathered, was already seeming to set off. He was asking about his home area, and he had no trouble attempting to help them. Before he could seem to get a word in however, one of the other females (Sedna) spoke up. His look turned to her, and a slight colder look was coming from him now.

Obviously manners were not such a big part of others cultures. He followed the others, as they set off to a place not to far a distance it seemed. They were aquireing supplise, but he was fine as was. He sighed a bit, waiting for the others to finish up their buisiness. Once they were done, perhaps it would be easier for him to get a word in before he was cast off again. His eyes went to the female from before, and he had half a mind to speak with her. But then again, causing jumble in the mist of all of this was not wise. They had a task at hand, and it would not be undone merely because he allowed a woman to get under his skin. He took a breath, focusing himself as he looked around a bit. He did occupy himself a bit by looking over a few things in the time it was taking the others.

Dian caressed Katias face slowly, almost in awe, her mouth slightly open, she wasn't quite sure why she need to stroke her skin, she had always been tactile, and could never just look with her eyes, her hand brushed along her smooth cheek and onto her exposed neck, Dians head tilting inquiringly. She only stopped when Katia spoke 'stunning' wasn't how she had heard anyone describe her before, she had been called sweet and cute by family, but often teased by the boys at home because of her amount of freckles and her 'tuft'. She wasn't quite sure what she had meant by stunning, but felt it was a compliment so left it as that for the time being pondering to herself.

While Katia gathered her things she gazed at her, she had nothing to pack up herself, she just made sure her poncho, and the whip were lashed onto her webbing of straps, and made sure they were secure themselves, she didn't particularly want her clothing to get too loose while they were on the move. Froth and a Shazrick were talking, and neither seemed too particularly happy, she was sure she would get along with the Shazrick herself, once they got chance to speak she thought, after all her people were attuned to nature much more than some of the other races, and besides she loved seafood!

Dian noticed once again Senshi, seemingly keeping himself to himself, she wanted to know more about him, and everyone here, but he intrigued her, she imagined him fighting with some beast, a large Sabre tooth cat or Polar Buffalo, she stopped herself just as she daydreamed about him wrestling with Giant cousin Drake, who wasn't really a cousin anyway but who the Iyroconian would have still been taller than. With a shake of her head she noticed everyone had pretty much got ready to go.

Katia had came back over to see if she was ready, and Dian gave her best smile back, she instantly felt happier talking to her, and as they set off to the town, she allowed herself to tell Katia as such, but she didn't and couldn't tell Katia exactly why.
When they had reached the town, she hadn't even thought about purchasing any supplies, but she decided to set of with Katia as she was intrigued by all the strange food and drink stalls, and wished to ask her what she knew about Froth and the other travelling companions, especially Senshi. She was eager to stop at almost all of the market stalls and shops, but managed to be content with asking for some samples from several begrudgingly looking stallholders selling rather alarmingly large insects, fried with leaves of some kind. And purchased a small bottle of blue liquor she had absolutely no idea what it was, but liked the colour 'so much for never drinking again she thought'

In between nosing at stalls and waiting for Katia to find a decent tanner, or armorer to purchase her sheaths from, she still had the description of herself that Katia had given in her mind.
"What did you mean when you said my freckles and eyes are stunning? No one has called me that before? You weren't teasing me were you?...I mean in Merrichton,...back in Eon, lots of people said things to me that I didn't understand, but I don't think they were being nice looking back now?"
Under her breath she cursed "I should have knocked their teeth out the back of their heads!"
"And all the boys back home would pull my..." She paused trying to think of a better word for her posterior growth..."Hair, and tease me too, when we would swim in the lake" she smiled as she finished "well they did until I walloped big Kato with a Crystal carp I'd caught in the lake, right around his chops"

Sedna growed at the white haired male, snapping her sharp teeth together audibly as he turned and began walking away, leading the group to their next destination. A low growl rumbled in her throat as she tugged at the netting on her back that served as her traveling bag. "Worthless lifeforms," she spat under her breath as she followed behind the rest of the group. From the way the others were traveling, they anticipated no attack which was all the more reason for the Shaz woman to be compelled to watch from behind; at least someone would keep them safe.

They had approached a city, something such as this was different than what the Shaz had set up within their own nation and Sedna found it to be a waste. A storm could come and destroy it all, the rubble causing harm to those all around. She blinked slowly, arms crossed over her chest as she waited for those that had decided not to come prepared to finish gathering their items.

She was at least pleased to see that she was not the only one that did not require additional items. She tucked her chin in a bit closer to her neck as she looked about the marketplace; the pale skinned walkers seemed to take an interest in the woman as it was uncommon for the Shazrick to mingle among the other races. Her change in posture was one that was used to lure in the weak so that they could be destroyed. She wasn't sure if it was her appearance that kept them at bay, or the fact that rather than fully blinking, a thin membrane slicked across her eyes, but none of the towns' people tried to talk to her.

The woman lifted her head after many moments, her eyes glancing at the sun before snapping down at the wandering and stationary members of the group. "We waste daylight," she snapped at them, the snarl clear in her voice as her teeth snapped together. "Quickly gather your items and let us continue before we lose too much daylight."

GM's NOTE: I'm time-skipping to put us closer to the location.

---

The hike to the cavern was rather uneventful. Some chitchatting happened among the group, but that was about it. What was there really to talk about? None of them knew the other. None of them knew what ticked the others off. It was just best to keep to oneself. Besides, they needed to conserve energy as they would arrive at the caverns late at night. Sure, they could sleep before seeking out the mirror, but time was too precious to waste, as clearly pointed out by Sedna throughout the trip.

For the majority of the walk, Froth led. When they did get closer to the caverns, it flipped over to Senshi. As he knew the lay of the land better, he could direct the crew towards shortcuts as well as avoid hot springs and weak ground.

Tired but determined, the crew ascended into the caverns. It was painfully dark and most would probably have a hard time seeing. Froth, having cat-like eyes, was even having trouble seeing in the pitch black. Thankfully, Dian managed to secure a branch to serve as a torch. Katia managed to have some matches left, too, which helped create the fire that would poorly light their way.

Unsure of how the others would fair in the dark, Froth piped up. "I'll take the back." His comment was directed more at Sedna than anyone else. "I have night-vision. Black and white, but at least I can see things."

The walls in the cavern were damp and from the echoing sounds that bounced around them, water was nearby. Froth wasn't pleased with the idea of wading into water, but with a shark-woman on their side, any water lurkers might think twice before attacking the group. After all, so few water creatures were willing to take on a shark. Sharks were pretty much at the top of the food chain.

On a mission Katia set out to get everything she needed, happy that Dian came with her. She quickly purchased some food, of course stuff that wouldn't spoil. The silver haired woman also grabbed a few other odds and ends. She had just came to an armory when Dian spoke. As she listened to her she looked at the vast array of sheaths. Finding the ones she wanted she pointed at them and passed over the right amount of money. After thanking the man she collected her purchase and turned to Dian. Sticking a hand out she squeezed her shoulder in comfort. How could anyone make fun of this striking creature in front of her?

"I promise you I was not teasing you. I was entirely serious. Dian honey you are beautiful and if anyone says different they’re just stupid and jealous. And good for you kicking his butt!” She laughed and stuck her arm through Dian’s. “Come on the others are probably waiting impatiently.” The two of them walked back towards the others.

Katia quickly placed the two thigh sheaths she purchased around her thighs and tucked her new twin blades in place. Then they were off.

The walk was long and she was tired. After that grueling journey just before, walking even more was killing her. Thankfully she was in really good shape and she knew she had more energy in her reserves. When they came across the caverns she blinked in the dark and searched her backpack for some matches. She passed them over so they could light the makeshift torch and kept following the group.

If Sedna thought these creatures were horrible to travel with before, the prolonged travel on the way to their first destination was the icing on the cake, or the knife that skinned the fish in her mind anyway. She despised travelling with others not of her kind; her people were all brought up and trained in a similar manner so they knew what was expected of each role and were held accountable. With these people, they could have led the group off a cliff and probably not thought twice about it.

Granted, the others were trying and had so far done a good job in leading and/or keeping up. That was all she could give them credit for as they had yet to see any combat. Letting out a sigh, Sedna was convinced that should push comes to shove, the others would take that push as encouragement to run. She then shut her eyes and shook her head at the thought.

When they had finally made their way through the entrance of the cave, Froth decided that he would take up the rear. It was an idea that the Shazrick woman did not approve of at first until he mentioned being able to see in the dark. Such a thing would prove useful, but she wasn't about to hold her breath in him being able to actually be useful in that position.

The cave was dense with moisture, the humidity just clinging to the air was enough to trigger the reaction within the woman's body that caused her fingers and toes to start growing her swimming membraine. Her nostrils flared as she heard the sound of running water; it was fresh water, but water all the same. From the sound of it, there was quite a bit in the cave so the chances of them needing to enter it was high. On top of that there was always the chance of running into the native creatures of those parts; being out of the water, Sedna was of no use in trying to tell if there was anything in there at the moment.

As Diantana recollected her childhood, as the pair walked, on hearing Katias remarks she suddenly felt rather aware of where she was holding her hands again, and very conscious of the way she walked, her legs feeling rather clumsy. But she did give a rather girlish giggle when Katia complemented her on hitting the boy, but instantly again felt awkward as she was sure that girlish sounding giggle had never came out of her mouth before! "You're quite pretty yourself!" she blurted out. They were soon making their way back to meet with the others, Dian attempting to grab more samples from vendors, who now seeing her coming quickly pulled back their wares away from her, and several giving her a short sharp slap on her hand, she promptly stuck out her tongue and blew at one, and poked both thumbs towards another, while her hands stayed around her midriff. The stall holder giving her a confused look at the sign, she guessed they didn't know Eon swearing in this town, she was just about to shout out the verbal form of the insult, when they caught sight of the rest.

The walk was longer than she thought it would have been, and probably more arduous, but nothing too dreadful, perhaps made better by the company of Katia, and also trying to get a better look at the sultry Senshi, without making it too obvious. Sedna hadn't spoke to Dian, but she had been so engrossed with Katia, and the different wildlife and environment that she had plenty on her mind, and almost forgot the question she wanted to ask her until the cave that was. They entered the cave, after gathering themselves and Dian grabbing together what dry shrubbery and a decent sized branch to gather it into, to create a torch. And began there trek. The gloom was overbearing, the flickering light shimmered off the damp smooth rocks, and Diana's skin glistened like dusted glass. Without all the distractions Diantana plodded along quite undeterred.. Before shouting out
"So Sedna? Are your peoples,.. People that are part shark, or Sharks that are part people?" Sounding rather honest in her questioning.

The small group moved at a pain-stacking slow pace, almost too slow for the cheetah-man's taste. With a bitter grimace, he reluctantly trudged along behind the others. Could they really not be serious about the mission? Chit-chatting and gawking at every single stalagmite and stalactite seemed to be the only thing this motley crew was capable of? Froth rolled his eyes, but it came with poor timing.

A thick fog started to roll into the cavern, perhaps due to the cold water and the warm air? Either way, it made travel all the harder. Even though Froth was right on the tail of Sedna, he could barely see her form; at his point he was more reliant on his nose than his eyes. It was absolutely ridiculous!

And then a shadow caught his gaze. Wait? Had he passed the group? Were they now behind him? In a second, he twisted toward the shadows. But the shadows were running -- running away from him. In the blink of an eye, the shadow vanished and Froth found himself alone, or so he believed. Calling out the names of the others, he was met with nothing but his own echo. There were no other voices. Why? Had he... had he gotten separated from them?

Eye dilating, he stepped forward with his hands extended. He needed to find the cavern's wall and use it as his guide. Froth stumbled over a few rocks but eventually found his hand on the slick walls of the cave. Again, he called out their names but heard nothing back.

Was the fog a trick? He knew magic was possible, but he had never really seen it before. Blinking, he tried to adjust his eyes to see through the thick clouds. It didn't seem to work so he was just about ready to give up when the fog vanished. Eyes refocusing on the fog-less world, Froth spun around and around. Nothing. No one. He was... alone.

Frown on his face, Froth needed to come up with a plan. However, a small giggle called his attention up. A very familiar giggle. Eye moving up, he caught a glimpse of something that made his heart stop. Why... why was his son here? Froth rubbed his eyes. Upon opening them, his son was gone. This caused his brows to wrinkle. What was happening?

A giggle came from behind. He whirled around to see a running, shadowy-like figure. He reminded him of his little boy so Froth pursued.

What Froth didn't know was that this was the first of two tests that he and the others were facing. The fog was actually an illusion to split the crew up. Each would wander a different way and chase after a different shadow. Upon losing said shadow, they would need to cope with the loneliness. Upon evaluation of how they handle separation, the fog will lift and something of importance would be before them. A lover, a child, a pet -- anything that this warrior would die for. Something that they could not, would not, live without. It would feel so real but it wouldn't make sense. Blinking, would break the reality of the situation, but it would also cause said person/thing to scatter.

Chasing the rabbit, though sketchy, is the only option. Only, the more they chase their rabbits, the further they get into the first test. Within time, each will arrive in a separate pocket within the cavern. Within seconds, their important person would be seized by a large demon-like dragon. The dragon would try to kill said person. To stop the nightmare, the warrior would need to vanquish the dragon, of which was all dependent on the warrior's mind. Could they break the illusion? Or were they strong enough to best the beast? Well, that was dependent on the hero....

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Note: We're introducing a new character played by sadrain! This character will control the movement of the dragon so when you get to the dragon part, you'll get to fight it. Since her character knows a lot about you, when you post, be sure to write about your weaknesses or fears so she can exploit them and use them against you. Once we're done with this test, we'll move onto the second group test!

There was indeed something native to the caves that waited for them... Waited impatiently, although it had nowhere to rush. No, there was no escape for the group - they would come and they would fall into mists deceivingly soft grasp. Eyes that could not be seen watched each their move, an intricate web weaving in its mind and drawing them deeper.

First to fall would be Froth. A shadow just always one turn ahead led him further until soft laughter would turn into horrified, desperate scream that echoed through caverns. Low ceiling would make him duck through next turn and next moment, he would find himself in a large 'hall' with stone twisted upward like desperate hands holding up the ceiling. Sharp crystal spears broke through the walls and floor, glowing eerily and shedding some light on the scene. And in the middle... There was a dragon.

Huge, scaly body towered over Froth, eyes filled with malice - the tress passers in its territory would die. Its claws served as an efficient jail for a small boy. A very special boy for certain Pneumian. "Daddy!" the child cried out desperately. And at this moment, blast of ice shot towards Froth, followed by aggravated roar. Tail with spikes swished and crushed some of the stone columns, sending boulders and smaller chunks of stone flying towards white haired mail in another assault.

Somewhere, the observer nodded to itself. This was just the start, soon things would heat up...

Fear, although not something Froth liked to admit, had overcome him. Eyes watering and lip quivering, the father fumbled backwards away from the monster. How was he to rescue his son from such a ferocious beast with nothing but his bare hands? And then it hit him. He wasn't unarmed. A wave of bravery washed over him. Hands moving behind his back, he yanked forth the dual spears he was given to aid him on his journey. Though he knew not how to fight with them, he would learn quickly and lay waste to this icy fiend.

He said not a word for he didn't believe in speaking lies or comforting people. After all, what if he failed? What if he couldn't save his son? He did not want the last thing the boy to remember to be that his daddy lied to him about saving him. It was hard not to affirm the kid that all would be okay, that daddy would someone win, but Froth held his ground. He wouldn't falter for faltering meant losing -- and he was not ready to cave and admit defeat.

The lack of a second eye was instantly Froth's greatest weakness. His voice was flattened and his ability to see to one side was rendered useless. He was more or less capable of front or one-sided attacks. Having to pay attention to the thrashing tail, Froth started to device his assault. He would tuck and roll away from the creature's frozen breath and whip-like tail. As he whirled away, his spears fell from his hands. God, he was sloppy. Hurriedly, he moved back for the weapons, just missing the monster's snapping jaws by a hair.

With the walls and chunks of stone falling all around him, Froht cursed under his breath. This wasn't going to be easy, but being a hero was never an easy task. After all, if it was, everyone would be a hero.

Sucking in a slow, calm breath, Froth regained his composure. It was time to really make things work in his favor. He needed that monster to dislodge the large, pointed rock above its head. If he could get it to smack the walls enough, the icy rock would fall and penetrate the dragon's skull. Or, at worse, it would knock the thing out for a second. It would give Froth just enough time to cleave off the head and free his son.

Tossing one of the spears aside, he was not ready to fight with two, he held tight to the one in his hand. His legs were shaking and fear was running rampant in his eyes, but his son was his rock, his support, his angel. He needed to do this. He needed to prove his worth as a father.

With a scream, he charged forward. Catching the ice just right, he slid below the monster's hands and right for its gut-like belly. If he was able to get the blade into the thing's stomach, he might be able to piss it off enough to smash the walls. If he wasn't lucky? Well, he would probably be crushed by the monster's weight. Nothing like a game of chance, right? He held his breath and waited. Would he succeed? Or would he die tonight before his fragile son's hopeful eyes?

CLOSED

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Effective the Eleventh of June in the year Two Thousand and Fourteen, this roleplay has been declared dead. As of this moment, all posting will stop and the story shall cease to exist. Thank you for your interest and I apologize for this notice.